As the functionality of PCs begins to converge with that of consumer electronics (CE) devices such as personal-video recording (e.g., digital video recorders (DVR), eHome PCs, etc.), PCs will likely move from locations such as the den or home office into the living room, so they can be connected to a home entertainment center (e.g., TV, stereo receiver, set-top box, etc.). This move creates a challenge for the PC, in that users will expect very high reliability and ease of use, similar to CE devices. Expectations for PCs have historically been much lower than CE devices because PCs have been difficult to use and prone to stability problems that have to do with both hardware and software. Thus, to succeed in the CE space, the PC must behave more like an appliance and less like a conventional PC.
PCs also differ significantly from CE devices with regard to powering ON and OFF. Conventionally, to be instantly available from an off state, the PC is placed into a low-power standby state (ACPI S3). Typically, this low-power state enables the PC to power on in less than two seconds. However, while the PC is in the low-power state, the only action it can perform is waking the system to a fully “on” state (ACPI S0) such that the PC may perform other functions. In addition, the latency between S3 and “on” depends on many factors, both hardware and software. Although it might take less than two seconds to power on one time, it might take five or seven seconds the next. For this reason, the PC low-power standby state cannot provide the instant-on behavior that users expect from a CE device.
Thus, there is a need for an improved system for restoring a PC to a fully “on” state from a reduced power state, wherein the PC may perform certain functions in the reduce power state. The present invention provides such a solution.